21-Year Old Unilag Student Wins MuslimWorld Beauty Pageant
recited Koranic verses as she won a world beauty pageant
exclusively for Muslim women in the Indonesian capital
Wednesday, a riposte to the Miss World contest that has
sparked hardline anger.
The 20 finalists, who were all required to wear
headscarves, put on a glittering show for the final of
Muslimah World, strolling up and down a catwalk in
elaborately embroidered dresses and stilettos.
But the contestants from six countries were covered from
head to foot, and as well as beauty they were judged on
how well they recited Koranic verses and their views on
Islam in the modern world.
After a show in front of an audience of mainly religious
scholars and devout Muslims, a panel of judges picked
Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola from Nigeria as the winner.
Eka Shanti, who founded the pageant three years ago after
losing her job as a TV news anchor for refusing to remove
her headscarf, bills the contest as “Islam’s answer to Miss
World”.
“This year we deliberately held our event just before the
Miss World final to show that there are alternative role
models for Muslim women,” she told AFP.
Aisha received 25 million rupiah ($2,200) and trips to
Mecca and India as prizes.
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